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## Editing the usrprobe.dat Data File

This topic describes how probes are created and stored in the probe.dat when you define probes in PC-DMIS. You can use this information as a model to manually create probes in the usrprobe.dat file.

Definition of the Probe.dat

The probe.dat file controls the graphical and numerical representation of the probe system for PC-DMIS. If you need a custom probe or probe system within PC-DMIS, you need to first define it in the probe.dat file. You need to strictly follow a specific format to define it.

The content below describes the format and rules of the format with a list of the commands and their definitions.

ITEM:TIP2BY20MM M2

In the above code snippet, the following rules apply:

1. The first set of characters following the colon "ITEM:" is the name that appears in the Probe Utilities dialog box when you construct a probe setup. The text following the colon after the keyword ITEM: is a unique name of your choice to identify the probe configuration.

You can find details in the Format of the Probe or Probe System ITEM section below.

2. The second set of characters, "M2" in the above example, defines the type of thread or connection type this item has.

The following information lists and defines the probe builder commands:

begintip
The start of a tip definition.

endtip
The end of a tip definition.

ribcount N
Defines the number of lines in a circular feature.

N - The number of lines seen in a circular feature. This is an integer from 2 to 1000, inclusive.

line x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2
Defines a line feature.

x1, y1, z1 - The coordinate location starting point of the line.

x2, y2, z2 - The coordinate location end point of the line.

sphere x y z d
Defines a sphere feature.

x, y, z - The center coordinate location of the sphere.

d - The diameter of the sphere.

cutsphere x y z i j k d t b
Defines a cut sphere feature.

x, y, z - The center coordinate location of the sphere.

d - The diameter of the sphere.

i, j, k - The vector perpendicular to the sphere top and bottom.

t, b - The location of the top and bottom as follows:

- Top = (x,y,z) + t * (i,j,k)

- Bottom = (x,y,z) - b * (i,j,k)

cylinder x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2 d
Defines a cylinder feature.

x1, y1, z1 - The coordinate location of the top of the cylinder.

x2, y2, z2 - The coordinate location of the bottom of the cylinder.

d - The diameter of the cylinder.

cone x1 y1 z1 d1 x2 y2 z2 d2
Defines a cone feature

x1, y1, z1 - The coordinate location of the top of the cone.

x2, y2, z2 - The coordinate location of the bottom of the cone.

d1 - The diameter at the top of the cone.

d2 - The diameter at the bottom of the cone.

ring x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 d1 d2
Defines a ring feature.

x1, y1, z1 - The center coordinate location of a ring.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the ring with respect to the current coordinate system of the probe definition.

d1 - The diameter of the outside of the ring.

d2 - The diameter of the inside of the ring.

comment text
An author message that describes the code or important information related to the code. The probe system does not act upon the text that follows the comment command.

hotspot x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 d1 t1 type
Defines a hotspot command.

x1, y1, z1 - The coordinate location of the center of the probe tip.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the probe tip, usually 0,0,1.

d1 - The diameter of the tip.

t1 - The thickness of the tip (for disk probe).

type - The type of probe (ball, shank, disk, and so on).

opticalcenter x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 sch=1 minf maxf optics_type min_na max_na mag type
Defines an optical center.

Example 1:

opticalcenter x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 sch=2 ot magsteps fov1 fov2...fovmagsteps, na1, na2,...namagsteps, auxlensmag type

x1, y1, z1 - The center location of the center of the probe tip.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the probe tip, usually 0,0,1.

sch - The schema number for the optical center data.

ot - The optics_type (1: encoder inifinite zoom, 2: fixed optics, 3:nonencoder zoom, 4:encoder discrete zoom, 5: turret microscope, 6: DCC turret microscope).

magsteps - The count of FOV (Field of View) and numeric aperture values.

fov - The X FOV size for each magnification step or min and max if infinite zoom.

na - The numeric aperture for each magnification step or those corresponding to the min and max FOV size if infinite zoom.

auxlensmag - The magnification of any attached auxiliary lens.

type - The type of probe (ball, shank, disk, camera, and so on).

Example 2:

opticalcenter x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 sch=3 ot magsteps fov1 fov2...fovmagsteps, na1, na2,...namagsteps QRDsteps qrdfovsize1 qrdfovsize2…qrdfovsizeQRDsteps qrd1 qrd2…qrdQRDsteps auxlensmag type

x1, y1, z1 - See above.

i1, j1, k1 - See above.

sch - See above.

ot - See above.

magsteps - See above.

fov - The X FOV size for each magnification step or min and max if infinite zoom.

na - See above.

QRDsteps - The count of qrdfovsize (QRD FOV size in X) and qrd (quadratic region depth) values.

auxlensmag - See above.

type - See above .

connect x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 take
Defines a connection point.

x1, y1, z1 - The location of a connection point on the probe system.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the connection based on its orientation to the current coordinate system of the probe system. It always points toward the center.

take - The type of thread or connection type that the connect point is compatible with.

autojoint x1 y1 z1 I1 j1 k1 ina inc sa ea label
Defines an auto joint feature.

x1, y1, z1 - The location of the joint with respect to the current coordinate system.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the joint based on the current coordinate system. It points back toward the startup location.

ina - The default initial angle of this joint.

inc - The increments of this joint.

sa - The starting angle of this joint.

ea - The ending angle of this joint.

label - The name of the joint that appears in the Probe Utilities dialog box.

manualjoint x1 y1 z1 i1 j1 k1 ina inc sa ea label
Defines a manual joint feature.

x1, y1, z1 - T- The location of the joint with respect to the current coordinate system.

i1, j1, k1 - The vector of the joint based on the current coordinate system. It points back toward the startup location.

ina - The default initial angle of this joint.

inc - The increments of this joint.

sa - The starting angle of this joint.

ea - The ending angle of this joint.

label - The name of the joint that appears in the Probe Utilities dialog box.

face N x1 y1 z1 ... xN yN zN
Defines a face feature.

N - The number of corner points on the given face.

x1, y1, z1 through xN, yN, zN - The coordinates of each corner point of the face.

solid N
Defines a solid feature.

solid - Applies shading. If you don't use the solid command, the faces appear as wireframes. You use this with the "face" command to indicate the number (N) of "face" commands.

N - The number of face commands which follow. This determines the number of faces to which to apply shading.

cadgeom X Y Z II IJ IK JI JJ JK KI KJ KK Level FileName
Defines the CAD geometry transformation movements for a specific CAD file.

X, Y, Z - The coordinate location start point. Moves the origin of the CAD file to the start point of the drawing for the probe file.

II - KK - The set of three transformation matrices to rotate the CAD csy to the probe csy. If no changes are required, the nominal values would be: cadgeom X Y Z 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Level FileName

Level - The CAD level number as assigned from within PC-DMIS. If no CAD level exists or if there are multiple levels, you may need to create a new level inside PC-DMIS.

FileName - A .draw file which is nothing more than a renamed .cad file.

cutcylinder X1 Y1 Z1 X2 Y2 Z2 I2 J2 K2 Diameter
Defines the cut cylinder geometry transformation for a specific CAD file.

X1, Y1, Z1 - The coordinate location start point for the cut cylinder. This moves the origin of the CAD file to the start point of the drawing for the probe file.

X2, Y2, Z2 - The cylinder edge coordinate location of the drawing for the probe file.

I2, J2, K2 - The edge vector of the cut cylinder.

Diameter - The diameter value of the cut cylinder.

Format of the Probe or Probe System ITEM

Each new probe configuration that is defined in PC-DMIS is added to the file "probe.dat". It begins with the "ITEM:" command. This command contains both a distinct naming description and a connection identifier. This identifier specifies the type of object to which it can connect, as described above. Below, you can see the available connection identifiers with a brief description. For a probe tip, only the second line of the probe configuration must be a "begintip" command, and the very last line a "endtip" command.

To define a probe configuration you must work with a top-down approach. This means that your initial starting point is x=0, y=0, z=0 and everything is drawn from that point down. Consequently, all z values should have a negative value. Also for most items, the 0, 0, 0 location is the center of the item. This makes it possible to have both positive and negative numbers in both the X and Y directions. Positive X always moves from left to right initially, and Positive Y always moves from front to back as if you were looking FROM the positive Z direction.

The only two commands that define an active configuration are "hotspot" for tips and "connect" for all others. You must have one of these two present in any configuration, but they are never present at the same time.

- "hotspot" defines the center location of any portion of a configuration that can be used to actually touch a part for measurement purposes.

- "connect" defines any location where another item can be added to the current item. Each connection must include a Connection Identifier to define the type of item it can take.

The two commands that can change the coordinates system of the probe configuration are "autojoint" and "manualjoint". Take special care when you use any of these two commands, because each command transfers the origin of the configuration to the center of the joint. Keep in mind that the first "joint" command changes the axes of the coordinate system. What was the -Z direction now becomes the +X direction, and what was the +X direction now becomes the +Z direction. Y remains the same. These commands are usually used in pairs. For example, one command controls the B rotation of a PH9 while a second controls the A rotation of a PH9. Also, the first command of the pair always controls the B rotation and the second always controls the A rotation.

Connection Identifier Listing

M2
Specifies that it can connect a M2 threaded device.

M3
Specifies that it can connect a M3 threaded device.

M4
Specifies that it can connect a M4 threaded device.

M5
Specifies that it can connect a M5 threaded device.

M8
Specifies that it can connect a M8 threaded device.

QC
Specifies that it can connect a Quick Connect device.

ARM
Specifies that it connects directly to the machine arm.

OPT
Specifies that it can connect to a Renishaw Optical lens that works with the VP2 and VP1 optical probes.

DEA
Specifies that it connects with the DEA old style probe head including their rotary head.

LEITZ1
Specifies that it can connect a Leitz M5 threaded device.

LEITZ1ANALOG
Specifies that it can connect a Leitz M5 threaded device on an analog probe head.

FIXEDOPTICS
-

ZOOMOPTICS
-

TESAOVP
-

TKJ
Specifies that it is a Tesa Kinematic Joint.

SENMATION
Specifies that it is a Senmation joint (a joint to change sensors).

Example Code for a Tip

ITEM:TIP1.5BY11MM M2

begintip

ribcount 10

cylinder 0 0 0 0 0 -3 3

cone 0 0 -3 3 0 0 -7 0.65

cylinder 0 0 -7 0 0 -11 0.65

color 255 0 0

sphere 0 0 -11 1.5

hotspot 0 0 -11 0 0 1 1.5 1.5 ball

endtip

Example Code for a Probe Head

ITEM:PROBEPH9A ARM

color 0 0 0

comment THE FOLLOWING 12 LINES CREATE THE BOX OF THE PH9

line -30 -30 0 30 -30 0

line 30 -30 0 30 30 0

line 30 30 0 -30 30 0

line -30 30 0 -30 -30 0

line -30 -30 0 -30 -30 -60

line -30 -30 -60 30 -30 -60

line 30 -30 -60 30 30 -60

line 30 30 -60 -30 30 -60

line -30 30 -60 -30 -30 -60

line 30 -30 0 30 -30 -60

line 30 30 0 30 30 -60

line -30 30 0 -30 30 -60

comment THE FOLLOWING CREATES THE LED

ring 0 -30 -30 0 1 0 20 4

ribcount 10

color 255 0 0

sphere 0 -30 -30 4

comment THE FOLLOWING STARTS THE ROTATING SPHERE

autojoint 0 0 -77 0 0 1 0 7.5 -180 180 b angle

color 0 0 0

ribcount 10

sphere 0 0 0 50

autojoint 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 7.5 0 105 a angle

ribcount 10

color 0 0 0

cylinder -22 0 0 -38 0 0 25

connect -38 0 0 1 0 0 QC